Ever try walking on wet vinyl? Ever try walking on that same vinyl once the sugar containing beverage that made it wet has dried? Neither one of those is a particularly attractive option for the airline, and neither is a cart sliding all over the place because the surface is too slick. Carpeting serves a rather practical purpose.

Quoting Warreng24 (Thread starter):And, the vinyl or paint would be really really easy to see and clean the crumbs.

Slippery when wet, almost always = lawsuits. Visible grime and rubbish on vinyl or paint will actually force some airlines to clean the floors more regularly, as opposed to vacuuming the carpets once in a blue moon. Regular cleaning = higher costs; which some airlines don't like

Rgds

SA7700

When you are doing stuff that nobody has done before, there is no manual – Kevin McCloud (Grand Designs)